In an effort to break some of Microsoft's stranglehold on the desktop, Novell is taking new steps in the product and pricing arenas to attract customers who want to move either gradually or quickly to Linux.

If you're the type of geek who likes tools and apps that are fast and lean, and you're not afraid of getting a little CLI under your fingernails, When is a good choice for your personal calendar. Even better, it's easy enough to install and use, and well enough documented, that you don't have to be a geek to take advantage of it.

Showing that even a successful company can still have a sense of humor, Google launched a fake online dating site in the spirit of April Fool's Day. I'll go out on a limb and predict that as funny as Google Romance may be, in three years or less we'll be talking about Google Romance as the real deal.

A panel discussion at LinuxWorld Tuesday will explore the evolution of Linux from server to desktop. "The State of the Linux Desktop," featuring members of the OSDL's (Open Source Development Labs) Desktop Linux (DTL) working group, will focus on Linux desktop markets, challenges to adoption, and the desktop Linux community.

When dealing with a *nix newbie, the most important thing is to try to be understanding. They are not going to comprehend everything they need to know right away, the same as you did not. Do not punish them for being confused, or for being a slow learner.

Blag Linux and Gnu (BLAG) is a Fedora Core 3 based distribution of the Linux kernel and Gnu utilities which runs on the x86 processor. BLAG aims to provide a totally free (as in speech) operating system, and it is one of only 5 distributions which are free by the standard of GNU. With this information in hand I thought I'd give it a spin.

Linux-based phones are increasingly prevalent in the marketplace, and demand for them is growing. Supporting information is readily available, whether from industry-analyst reports, e-newsletters or the latest Linux-themed conference.

VMware is opening up its virtual machine disk format specification, but today's news is about sharing, not open sourcing technologies. VMware's decision to share at no cost its format specification with developers and vendors will spur big gains in virtualization innovation.

While Red Hat muddles along ignoring the bulk of computer users, those longing to find a usable alternative to Windows on the desktop can breathe a sigh of relief that another vendor has finally taken the bull by the horns with its latest Linux release.

Open-Xchange Inc. announced today that its leading open source collaboration server Open-Xchange has been named a finalist for a LinuxWorld Expo Product Excellence Award in the “Best Messaging Solution” category.

Using Really Simple Syndication (RSS) or Atom feeds to check your favorite sites and blogs can be a big time-saver. However, if you use more than one computer or operating system, managing your feeds and tracking updates is more difficult. Gregarius, a Web-based server-side aggregator that supports RSS, RDF, and Atom feeds, can help.

The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) is due to announce the formation of the Software Freedom Conservancy Monday. The conservancy aims to make it easier for developers of free and open-source software (FOSS) projects around the world to become tax-exempt corporate entities.

Embedded developers are increasingly turning to open-source tools for building reliable and flexible systems and software. Open-source code can provide both raw material for building system software and applications, and development tools for creating that software.